


'Cause I love you more than a promise.

by judgementdays



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: High School AU, M/M, harry is a dork, im not sure what im doing, louis' basically prom queen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-30
Updated: 2013-06-30
Packaged: 2017-12-16 16:40:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/864250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/judgementdays/pseuds/judgementdays
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So, yeah. Harry continues to mow the lawns. He continues to check off every mark on his List Of Things To Do, except the most important one, and he continues to look forward to 5th period every single week day, where for a whole hour, it's just Louis and him. And a whole lot of chemicals, of course.</p><p>or</p><p>Louis' popular and Harry's not and there's a chem class in there somewhere.</p>
            </blockquote>





	'Cause I love you more than a promise.

**Author's Note:**

> hiiiii so this is my first actual high school au!!! let's all rejoice!!!
> 
> im sort of proud of this?? idk. i just hope you all like it and please tell me if you do or don't!
> 
> dedicated to my crew and people i like i'll try to name all of u off; marky kiana rose dom mary amber sophie alyssa, this one if for you!!
> 
> EDIT: today is the 2 year anniversary of this fic and i just... wow. i'm so amazed at how much attention this got, and i'm so grateful for it?? to anyone who would like to translate this fic: GO AHEAD! thank you for being so polite and asking. i'm sorry i haven't been writing in a very long time, but i'm hoping to maybe get back to it. thank you for supporting me through my journey. bless you all.

It's not his fault, he swears. It's not his fault at all.

Because everyone is in love with Louis, so you can't really blame him that he's just one of the many that has fallen in love with the boy.

But how could you _not_  fall in love with him, is the thing.

Louis' so gorgeous, so pretty, that it's hard to look away when your eyes land on him. His eyes shine, practically, with this perfect, suntanned skin and a crinkly eyed smile that always sends goose bumps down his back. But it doesn't even end with his looks. He's one of those few people who are actually nice, who make jokes without hurting other people, who helps you up if you fall.

He's so undeniably perfect, so spectacularly flawless, and so tragically taken, it breaks Harry's heart and fixes it all the same.

So obviously, it's not Harry's fault that he's in love with him. Any decent person with eyes would be.

And, it's like. He's so close. He's _so_  close to getting onto the friend level with him.

He doesn't believe in the friend zone bullshit, because if everything that comes up comes down, anything that goes in comes out as well. So if he just works his way into being a friend, then a good friend, then a very good friend, he could even make Louis fall in love with him.

You know, on all the right terms.

And well, that's his plan anyway.

He's got it on his List Of Things To Do. It's right up there with 'do the dishes' and 'make dinner,' maybe even higher up than those two, right up there in bold print. 'Hope Louis Tomlinson Falls In Love With Me.'

And, if he does say so himself, the plan is working out just swell.

~

So maybe his most effective way of getting Louis' attention isn't a very good one, but it does work. Louis' mum pays him 10 quid every week to mow their lawn, and sometimes Louis comes out to talk to him.

It's bright and early on Tuesday, the day before the first day of school, when Harry's busy mowing through the lawn, that Louis comes out to stand on the porch. He's wearing a long jumper and looks sleepy, but he's smiling all fond as he pads out to the lawn.

"Rather early this morning, yeah?" He asks, crossing his arms over his chest, and  _oh_  he's cold, he knew he should of grabbed a jacket, that way he could give it to him.

"Yeah, well. Wanted to get it done early today," Harry says casually, leaning against the mower in a way he prays with all his heart and soul looks cool. After all, Louis' boyfriend is a college kid, he's got high standards to meet.

"Mum wanted me to give this to you," Louis says quickly, reaching into his pocket to hand him a bill, and Harry raises an eyebrow in surprise.

"This is a 20, not a 10," Harry tells him slowly, staring down at it.

"It was pretty hot this summer, so she wanted to pay you extra," Louis shrugs, clearing his throat. He looks awkward and oh dear god, could this boy just get on his lap so he could kiss him.

"Oh. Well, um. Tell her I said thank you," Harry coughs, looking down at the mower, before leaning on it more, which causes him to push the start button, which of course, only starts it. It starts travelling across the lawn rather quickly, and they both stare it.

"Right. I'll leave you to it, then." Louis gives him a wave and a smile before hopping back up the steps to his porch, "Bye, Henry," he calls before the door slams shut, and Harry's too busy chasing after the mower to notice the mistake.

~

It's not a big deal, Harry tries to tell himself, it really isn't. Louis just so happened to smile at him in the hallway this morning, though, so he's aloud to be a little bit more clumsy than normal.

"You alright, mate?" Niall asks, and yes, of course, he's alright, it's not like the love of his life just smiled at him or anything, Christ.

"Yeah. I'm great. I'm fantastic. I'm just grand, Ni, you wouldn't even know," Harry says through a bite of his sandwich. Louis' on the other side of the cafeteria, talking with friends and laughing and Harry looks away when Louis looks over at them.

"Right," Niall says, raising an eyebrow, "Um. Okay. What'da have next?"

"Chem," Harry says distractedly, eyes focused on the Other Side of the room. This is, of course, where the cool kids are. The pretty ones, the ones worth looking at, not the side Harry currently sits at.

"Got English. Can't believe we're not in one period together this year, this blows," Niall mumbles, frowning, and Harry shrugs.

"We've still got lunch, at least." The bell rings, then, and he somehow manages to grab all his trash, throw it in the bin and get out of the room without tripping or falling down once.

~

Chem's good. In fact, chem is more than just good, it's fucking fantastic.

Louis' in the period as well, with his smile and his laugh and when the teacher says to find a partner, Louis turns to him and asks if they want to be together.

"Yeah. Sure, sounds good," Harry stumbles out, clearing his throat, while Louis smiles at him in this fond sort of way.

"Great. They're all gossiping about the latest one night stand bullshit, I can't stand to listen to it," Louis motions over to his group of friends with a roll of his eyes, putting his elbows up on the lab table.

"You could try sitting down?" Harry says before he can stop himself, but Louis only laughs. His eyes crinkle and Harry's heart is pounding so loud he can feel it in his head.

"You're pretty funny, Henry," Louis grins, and then his little hand is on his bicep and his heart beat goes from heavy metal rock concert to barely even there.

"Harry," he chokes out, taking a deep breath, "It's Harry."

"Harold, right, sorry." Louis' hand lingers on his arm for a few moments longer before he takes it away again, back to his side. Harry doesn't have the heart to correct him, that it's not Harold, actually, but, well, it sounds so fucking cute coming from Louis' mouth that he can't help it.

"I guess I'll be seeing a lot more of you this year then, Harold," Louis says before he exits the classroom, and Harry would be lying if he said he didn't feel a little faint at the words.

~

So, yeah.

Harry continues to mow the lawns. He continues to check off every mark on his List Of Things To Do, _except_  the the most important one, and he continues to look forward to 5th period every single week day, where for a whole hour, it's just Louis and him. And a whole lot of chemicals, of course.

For those 60 minutes, Louis' not the most popular boy in school. Nor is he just someone he mows lawns for. No, Louis' just Louis and Harry loves every second of it.

Louis' got a different laugh when he's not around his friends. It reaches his eyes much more than it normally does. He talks different, too. He sounds excited about every new thing they learn about, and they actually work on all their labs together, instead of what normally happens when a popular kid is paired up with a dork, like a fucking cliche, it is. He eventually tells Louis his name isn't Harold, but Louis continues to call him that, anyway. It's their thing. He never thought him and Louis Tomlinson would have a thing.

And although Louis talks about Aiden a lot, he doesn't really mind. Louis tells him about twice a day how committed they are to each other, how they're already planning their life together and Harry's so entranced by Louis' stories he doesn't have time to get upset or feel bad about himself.

Everything is possibly the best it's ever been until the near end of December which is right around the time of the Christmas school dance. Other wise known as the worst thing ever, if you're Harry Styles and have no fucking chance of getting to spend that lovely night with Louis.

"You going with anyone to the dance?" Harry asks casually one day as he pours some blue chemical into a jar full of something pink. Louis' sitting on the lab table, swinging his legs and watching. His feet don't hit the ground. Harry wants to coddle him.

"Mhm. Aiden's coming home from London, so we're going." Louis sounds pleased, and like, he should be. Aiden is his boyfriend after all, and they hadn't seen each other in a month or so, but, like.

Harry doesn't really reply, pretends to be focusing on the chemicals in front of them. It's not like he was expecting Louis not to have a date. Of course he'd have a date, and if he didn't, Harry wasn't about to get beat up by Aiden for asking him.

"Are you? Going with anyone, I mean," Louis clarifies, leaning forward. He looks as if he's trying to study the rise or fall of the bubbles, like they're supposed to be doing, but his shoulder presses against Harry's and it's sort of a lot to take in.

"Er, I'm not sure. Might ask Caroline but, y'know." Harry says causally, and Louis brightens up, eyes widening.

"You like Caroline!" Louis exclaims, and Harry would be embarrassed if he actually liked her, but he doesn't, so.

"Sort of," Harry lies, and tries not to cringe at the way Louis squirms, clapping his hands together.

"Oh, this is too perfect. Our dear Caroline has a thing for like, people like you." Harry cringes. "Sorry, no offence. She just likes the tall, sort of nerdy type, you know?"

Harry doesn't know, actually, and he was sort of praying that was Louis' type, not Caroline's. He nods anyway, of course, and Louis just beams.

"Great! I'll talk to her today and set you guys up, maybe you, me, Aiden and Caroline can all go on a double date sometime? Doesn't that sound fun?"

It doesn't sound fun. It sounds like the opposite of fun. It sounds like the least fun thing Harry could possibly think of. But, again, he nods because Louis' Louis and what is he supposed to say?

Louis smiles at him brightly, and then the bell is ringing and Louis' sliding off the table, giving Harry's arm a squeeze before he's off.

He suddenly feels quite empty.

~

That was Popular Louis speaking to him in chem, he was sure of it. His Louis doesn't talk like that, doesn't try to set people up for the sake of a date. It's all so frustratingly complicated that he's still thinking about it after the day is over, and he's at his locker trying to figure out his goddamn life. He thought he knew Louis quite well, like. Sure they only talked during chem and now when he went over to mow Louis' lawn, but he considered them good friends, and he knew Louis did the same. So why the hell was he acting so fucking different? He's broken from his thoughts when suddenly, he realizes he's not alone. 

"Hi!" A voice says from behind him, and he jumps a little, turning around. It's Caroline. Goddamn it.

"Hey. Hi." Harry says quickly, rubbing the back of his neck. He's never felt so uncomfortable in his life.

"So, you know. Rumor has it, there's a sexy junior with a crush on a senior," Caroline speaks so casually it's actually sort of amazing. Her finger is traveling up his chest, which feels tight, and his breath is caught in his throat.

"Um." Harry clears his throat, coughing to cover up the small crack in his voice.

"Don't you need to ask me to go somewhere with you?" Caroline asks, voice innocent, and her fingers are on his chin now and okay. He really doesn't like this very much.

"Right, um. Do you. Um, do you want to go to the dance with me?" Harry croaks out, and almost rolls his eyes at the pure, fake surprise in Caroline's eyes.

"Oh, of course! Pick me up at eight on Friday, alright? Show me the best you got, tiger," Caroline whispers in his ear, and he gulps.

He hardly has time to nod before she scurries away and  _fuck_ , he really wasn't getting out of this one.

~

So the Big Night arrives.

Harry borrows his neighbors suit and his mum takes a million pictures, asking who the lucky gal is. He tells her about Caroline, and how his friend Louis "introduced them." It feels great calling Louis his friend, and he's pretty sure he glows more when talking about Louis than his actual date to this damn thing.

When he finally gets out of the house, he's nervous and sweating because he's going to meet Aiden and Louis will be there but he'll be with Caroline and his heart is pounding but not in the good way at all, not like when Louis squeezes his bicep or laughs at his joke or calls him Harold when he sees him in the hall.

Caroline's house is easy, too easy, she's ready when he knocks on the door. Her dress is cut and looks like rags but he doesn't comment, and they ride to the school in silence, Harry driving his beat up car he can barely afford and Caroline pretending not to look disgusted.

He wonders how he managed to somehow befriend his life-long crush while also getting a date for the dance with a senior in the mean time. It's all a bit bizarre.

And, speaking of bizarre, that's exactly what this dance is.

Harry's been to very few school dances, but this by far is the wildest one he's been too. The music is loud and poppy, with bright flashing strobe lights. Everyone seems to be drinking already, high, too, and he wonders where the hell the teachers are, why no one is stopping this room full of underage students from getting wasted and stoned during a winter fucking dance.

He tries not to think about it, hand on the small of Caroline's back, while people come up and greet them, mostly Caroline, but they nod hello to him, too, noting he's got a date with one of the most popular girls in school. It's whatever. He'd rather date the most popular boy in school, which-. Speaking of.

He sees Louis and Aiden from across the room and it's honestly like a big punch to the gut. Or multiple punches to the gut. Yeah, that's the best description.

Aiden's got his arms wrapped around Louis' waist and they're dancing, just smiling up at each other like they both hung the stars and moon for each other to see. It's heart breaking, really.

And Harry wants that. He aches for that so bad. He aches for someone he can pull into his chest for a hug, or kiss whenever he wants. He cannot wait for the day he has a partner, who will love him unconditionally and grow old with him. And he's so, so sure that the person he aches for is Louis, but it seems as though he already has that.

"Come on, Harry!" Caroline squeals, pulling him out onto the dance floor, and he supposes she's looking for some sexy dancing, but it's all very awkward and tense.

Eventually, she pulls away and looks at the ground, the ceiling, anywhere but Harry's face.

"I'll go get us some punch, then?" Harry offers, but jogs away before she can say anything else.

He lets out a breath and shakily pours two cups of punch, that's he's like, positive is spiked, and watches for awhile the sea of the crowd.

He talks to Zayn and Liam awhile, a couple who know Louis and give him props for scoring Caroline.

"She's a right catch, 'aint she?" Zayn smirks, and Liam hits him on the chest until he apologizes.

Eventually he realizes he has to go back to his date, so he says farewell to the now kissing (the two are disgustingly endearing) pair and makes his way back to where he left Caroline, but finds now she isn't alone. But with Louis and Aiden. How fucking perfect.

"Harold!" Louis says excitedly when he sees him, tiptoeing to hug him, and this is it, Harry thinks. This is it.

This is the reason he woke up at the crack of dawn on weekdays to mow his lawn, the reason he made sure to fix his hair before walking into chem class. This hug was like a little spark of a flame, whispering to him that he could do it. He could do it.

It doesn't last for very long, of course, for Louis goes straight back to Aiden's side and Caroline slips by his. It's all very silent and weird. Louis looks pretty and lovely all dressed up in his suit, hair done perfectly and smile permanently on his lips, hanging off Aiden's side like a trophy wife or something. It's still silent and it's still weird.

"Aiden," Louis says softly, clearing his throat, "How about you and Harry go off and talk for awhile? You two haven't properly met, I don't think."

Aiden doesn't look too thrilled at the idea, but Louis and Caroline leave to go talk with all their friends so he doesn't really have a choice.

"Um. I'm Harry," he offers, and Aiden scoffs.

"Thanks. I knew that. So now tell me, does Caroline give good head?" It's so out there, so out of the blue, Harry actually spits his punch out and starts choking.

"Um," he coughs, not sure what to say, but then Aiden keeps talking.

"Cause like, the girls at uni, bro, don't give good head. At all. So like, keep her if she can suck a dick, you know?" Suddenly Harry feels a lot less like choking and a lot more like punching this guy in the gut.

"How would you know if girls at uni gave good head?" Harry finds himself asking, because this guy doesn't sound very committed to him at all, and like, Harry's not an idiot. But he's trying to trust this guy who Louis, beautiful, perfect, Louis, has put his full trust in. But then Aiden just. 

"How else you think, mate?" Aiden asks with a smirk, looking so fucking smug Harry wants to punch the look off his face. So he does.

It's the first time he's ever done anything physical to hurt another person, and he has to say; it feels sort of good. Aiden doesn't fall to the ground, but he does stumble backwards and clutch at his jaw, and then it doesn't feel so good.

For a moment, it almost seems as if no one noticed, but then people are crowding around and Louis' running back, yelling and asking about what happened, and teachers are getting in the middle of it and it's messy. It's very, very messy.

"He fucking attacked me out of no where," Aiden spits as Louis holds his face and kisses him, and fuck fuck fuck, he really messed up.

He really, really messed up.

And right when he thinks it couldn't get any worse, Louis marches right up to him and slaps him in the face.

Harry's pretty sure he's never run out of a room faster in his life.

~

He's immensely grateful for the long holiday. Two weeks of laying in bed, face stuffed into a pillow as he ignores the knocks on the door from his mum, begging him to ask what happened.

He does spend some time with Gemma on Christmas and stays up with his mum on new years, but he hardly speaks the entire night. Niall comes over, too, and he lets him in, but doesn't stay for long because he refuses to talk.

He was also supposed to mow their lawn before they went back to school, but, well. There's no way in hell he's going near Louis' house.

The dreadful Monday arrives and Harry tries every trick in the book. Faking out sick, missing the bus, anything he could think of. In the end he ended up with an ice pack on his head and a ride to school from his mum.

"Be good," she warns before he opens the door, and he wants to roll his eyes, because he always is, but then he remembers that he _punched_  someone and he stays quiet.

Walking through the halls after punching a freshman in college is a bit like being in a movie. But not in a good way. Everyone stares at him as he walks past, and it's as if conversations just end. He wants to bury himself into the ground, and is just grateful for the fact he doesn't have any periods with Louis in the morning.

Niall's home sick, so he eats lunch alone. Liam and Zayn try to talk to him, but he ignores them until they leave, head hung low because next period is what he's been dreading for two weeks.

When he enters chem class, he doesn't look up. He just shuffles to his seat and sits down, swallowing thickly. He knows Louis' beside him, but the boy doesn't speak up so neither does he.

Their teacher explains the lab, they get their goggles and they get to work.

"You were right," Louis says softly a few minutes into the lab. It causes him to freeze up.

"What?" Harry asks, not looking over at him.

"I mean, you were right to punch him. Zayn and Liam were standing by the entire time and heard the conversation," Louis clarifies, and this finally causes Harry to look up from the lab.

Louis looks awful. His hair is messed up and he's got deep bags under his eyes, as if he hasn't slept in days. And he looks so tiny and small and vulnerable Harry feels himself choke up inside.

"Oh." Harry says, and just stares.

"And we broke up," Louis adds, playing with his fingers.

"Oh." Harry repeats and continues to stare.

This time, Louis rolls his eyes and looks up. "Oh, for godsakes, Harry, will you just kiss me already?" And, well.

Harry wants to protest, say no and save it for a better time, because they're in chem class, good lord, but the teacher left the room and no one was paying attention. So he does.

And it's better than the short little hug they shared before, better than all the times Harry mowed their lawn and only caught a glimpse of him.

And, of bloody course it's better than punching Aiden square in the jaw, because this time, he doesn't have to run, he just stays right where he is, right where Louis is, with his pretty lips and his pretty face and his pretty little hands in his hair, tugging him down for a proper kiss. It's warm and delightful, Louis tastes of sugar and tea and a bit like bubble gum and if he had it his way, he'd never fucking leave him alone again.

~

(When he gets home, he crosses off the last item off his List Of Things To Do and feels pretty damn proud.)

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed, and again, please tell me if you disliked/liked!  
> tumblr: judgementdays
> 
>  
> 
> ~life is a game  
> and love  
> is the  
> trophy~


End file.
